Third place finisher, Helio Castroneves, waves to the crowd after the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Saturday, May 10, 2014. For the Star\ Kerry A. Keating. For the Star\ Kerry A. Keating.

Will Power runs over an air hose leaving his pit area during the Grand Prix of Indianapolis at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 10, 2014. This rule infraction resulted in a penalty which eliminated Power from competing for the win. Bob Goshert / For the Star

Helio Castroneves pits late in the race during the Grand Prix of Indianapolis at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Saturday, May 10, 2014, in Indianapolis. Castroneves finished third. Brent Drinkut/The Star

Simon Pagenaud makes his last pit stop during the Grand Prix of Indianapolis at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Saturday, May 10, 2014, in Indianapolis. Pagenaud would go on to win the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis. Brent Drinkut/The Star

This is the first restart after the track was cleared at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway following crashes coming out of the grid at the start of the inaugural Indianapolis Grand Prix on Saturday, May 10, 2014. This is seconds before the mayhem. Charlie Nye/The Star

Winner Luiz Razia (C) celebrates with 2nd place driver Jack Harvey (L), and 3rd place driver Alex Baron (R) from Victory Podium of Indy Lights race number two of the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 10, 2014. Bob Goshert / For the Star

Pole sitter Sebastian Saavedra while riding the truck prior to the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis on Saturday May 12th, 2014. Saavedra's race would end on the first lap. Kristin Enzor / For The Star

Justin Lahr, a member of the Indianapolis percussion group High Octane, enjoys the preface fun on the plaza at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway before the start of the inaugural Indianapolis Grand Prix. Charlie Nye/The Star

Kent Sterling, a reporter from Indianapolis radio station WIBC, gets a close-up look at a 1956 Chevy Corvette SR2 owned by Greg Boehme of Seattle, which was on display at the Celebration of Automobiles show at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway before the start of the inaugural Indianapolis Grand Prix on Saturday, May 10, 2014. Charlie Nye/The Star

IMS President, Doug Boles talk with the media while standing next to the Gran Prix of Indianapolis trophy, Saturday May 10, 2014 at The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, during the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. Greg Griffo/The Star

Megan Meyer, Frankfort, and her children Tommy, 10, left, and georgia, 8, cool their feet in discarded ice fro a cooler after the finish of the inaugural Indianapolis Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 10, 2014. Charlie Nye/The Star

Race fans look at cars, including this 1913 Mercer 35R race car owned by Ted Davis, Oklahoma City, during the Celebration of Automobiles show at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway before the start of the inaugural Indianapolis Grand Prix on Saturday, May 10, 2014. Charlie Nye/The Star

"There were no stitches required, it was nothing serious," Lotter said. "He had a couple of scrapes."

Ballard came out of the medical building at about 5:15 p.m. and gave onlookers a "thumbs up" sign before getting into a car and heading home, where he watched the rest of the race.

The mayor declined to talk to reporters before he left, but he later "thanked everyone for well wishes," on Twitter.

Lotter said Ballard, a U.S. Marine for 23 years, joked with track officials that the mishap wouldn't keep him away from the Indianapolis 500 later this month. Ballard often waves the flag for the first day of practice for the 500-Mile Race, he said.

"He's a big race fan and has to go there all the time for meetings with people at the track," Lotter said. "He's still looking forward to it."

Simon Pagenaud captures the inagural Grand Prix of Indianapolis.

Davison set for No. 33

KV Racing Technology confirmed a Star report that James Davison will drive the No. 33 car in the Indianapolis 500, which opens for practice Sunday.

Davison, 27, is the grandson of Lex Davison, one of the most decorated drivers in Australian racing history. He will be KV's fourth entry. Almost all of the equipment was leased from Panther Racing, which is not competing.

The car is being led by Simon Hodgson, a former team manager of Wayne Taylor's sports car program.

Townsend Bell stylin'

Another of the KV cars entered in the Indy 500 is for Townsend Bell, who showed off a can't-miss, splash-of-color paint scheme Saturday.

From one Californian to another, it's the driver's "out with the old, in with the bold" tribute to the late Robert Graham, an artist and sculptor whose creative style inspired a trendy clothing line. Bell wore a Graham silk fedora in last year's visit to IMS.

The car has bright colors throughout, including the cockpit, which also has peace signs.

"The car has this really great zipper detail," Bell said. "It's as if you're wearing a Robert Graham zip-up and as you're unzipping, the color splash that is so traditional with Robert Graham is kind of exploding out of the nose of the car and sort of trailing off. It's almost like cuffs with a sweatshirt on the flip-ups in front of the rear wheels."

Nothing wrong with change

Bobby Rahal thought IMS needed a race like the Grand Prix of Indianapolis to inject some life into the month's schedule.

"It's a great way to kick off the month of May because, frankly, from the mid-80s on, the month of May was slowly just becoming a week-long event instead of a four-week event which it once was," said the 1982 Indy 500 winner.

"It's bringing more people into the race track; it can only be good. They've done a great job on the circuit; all the drivers are raving about the circuit. So I think it's all good."

Rahal is mindful of fans who prefer to uphold tradition.

"Tradition died when the Brickyard 400 showed up in my mind," he said of the NASCAR race's debut in August of 1994. "Now it's all about taking advantage of this great facility and I think the Grand Prix is doing that."